Oalen evans



G..EVAN$ June 21', 1932.

WELL

Filed 'May 5, 1930 gwuentoz Galen Evans Patented June 21, 1932 PATENT. orrlca- GALEN VANS, or SHELTON, NEBRASKA WE L Applicationyfileii May 5, 1930. Serial m. 449,914.

My invention relates to wells, the present invention being in the nature. of an improvement or modification of the well casing and method of sinking describedin my prior Patent N o.- 1,7 33,953, granted October 29, 1929.

The primary object ofmy invention is the provision of the structure and .of a method of sinking the structure through quick sand, at the same time utilizing the quicksand as ballast to facilitate the sinking of the well'cas- 111g. j

Another object of the invention vis the provision of a method of forming-an outer layer of gravel'around the well casing by removing the fine sand throughthe interior of the well casing during the sinking. I Another of my objects is the provision of a method for separating the water from, the sand and gravel entering the well casing, of utilizing the separated water. for cutting out the soil underneath-the well casing and for utilizing the separated sand and gravel as ballast for sinking the well casing, the separated sand and gravel being subsequently removed from the interior of the well casing after the casing has been sunk to the desired depth.

Another object of the invention is the provision of the well casing having a bottom and a false bottom to divide the well casing into a lower closed water chamberand into an upper ballastchamber which is open at its top.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the-drawing, in

which Figure 1 is a median vertical sectional view of my well casing when comp'leted,'portions being shown in full lines or with broken away parts to more clearly disclose which would otherwise be hidden.

material such as wood, sheet metal or-concrete but it is essential that the casingbe so made as to provide numerous relativelylarge openings therethrough; -When the casing is made of sheet metal the openings are punched in suitable size. In a concrete casing an exceedingly lean mixture of cement with very coarse gravel would be employed so' as to produce a very porous casing wall. When 'wood' is used for forming the casing wall,

planks are arranged and bound togethervin cylindrical form with the meeting edges of the planks spaced at a sufiicient distance to permitithe passage of the finer sand and of all other sand up to coarse gravel. The ursinking throughout itsfirst stages is a method j which is common in the art. There are in fact several methodsby which thiswell casing could be sunk depending onthe character of the soil into which the well casing is to "be sunk. The present" methods contemplatethe sinking of the well easing into or through a layer of fine sand or of quick sand and the novel steps of the method'relate particularly to the sinking of the well casing intoPor through such a layer. 1 w

When the vwell casing has beensunk to or in proximity to the water table, thew sinking'is temporarily. halted and the casin is rovided with'a bottom 11 and with a false ottom'12. The bottom 11 is provided near its periphery with a plurality of apertures arranged concentrically, each aperture comvmunicating with a tangentiallydisposed channel on the under side of the bottom 11, the channels 13 being open on their under sides as shown in Figure 1. Pipes or tubes 14 are inserted through the openings inthe 7 bottom 11 with their upper open ends in the Figure 2 1s a vlew 1n greatly reduced scaleshowing the under surface of the well casing.- The well casing is designated by the nu-- meral 10. This may be made of any suitable top of the chamber between the twobottoms Hand 12. The chamber thusformedbetween the two bottoms is the waterchamber toip'ermit a boy or a small-sized man'to' pass therethrough but to retain the sand. The tube 15 serves not only as a filter but it also serves as a casing for the pump which is used in the sinking of the wellc'asing.

' The pump 17 is seated withinth'e tube 15 V and it is provided with a suction pipe 18.

This suction pipe 18 telescopes into the pipe 19 so that the pump 17 with its suction pipe '18 may be raised without disturbing the posi- .tion of the loweror inlet end of the pipe 19. .The suction pipe 18 fits snugly but slidably in the pipe 19 so that the pipe 19 becomes in 1 eflectv an extension ofthe suction pipe 18.

The pump 17 carries the sand, gravel and water from beneath the bottom 11 of the well casing and discharges the sand, gravel and water through the 'gooseneck discharge pipes 20.

A In the sinking operation of the .well casing the sand, gravel-and water are carried upwardly through the pipes 18 and'19 through "the pump 17 and the gooseneck discharge pipes 20 to the upper channel of the well cas 'ir'i'gabove the false bottom 12. This mass of material is packed into the upper cham-- ber surrounding thetube 15 but the water is filtered from the sand and gravel and is per- I I mitted to "flow down through the interior'of. I 40"- the tube 15 t'o the excavated chamber below the bottom 11. The water rushes down through the tube1 5' with sufficient force to I loosen the soil immediately beneath to provide a soil cutting action at the noseof the well casing. At the same time the lower chamber'of the well casing contains the water which lfilte rs through the openings in the I well casing, through the wall bottom '12 and also the back flow from the tube 15. In this manner the lower. chamber is normallyke-pt almost full of water at all times during'the sinking operation. At the same-time considrable fine sand enters through the wall ofthe well casing to form an irregular layer as outlined in Figure 1. The water of'the lower chamber pours through thepipes l l and is directed tangentially whenit reaches the excavated chamber beneath the well casing. This water also has considerable force .-soil iin'iproximity tothe lower edge'of the fwell casing. This .process is continuous throughout the sinking of the Wellcasing and more especially throughout that stage of the sinking in which the well casing passes through a stratum of fine sand or of quick sand.

After the well casing has been sunk to a depth where its upper edge is in proximity to the water table, forms are set up and the concrete walls are cast in the form shown at 21 and 22 in Figure 1. The wall 22 is cylindrical andaxial with respect to the casing 10. Ther'educed-diameter of the wall 22 as compared with the wall 10 affords greater strength for that portion of the casing which is subjected to frost and erosion. At this point in the sinking of the casing it is necessary that the discharge of the sand, gravel and water from the pump be outside the well casing since the upper chamber has become gradually filled with sand andgravel. The

pump 17 may also be raised but the goose; neck outlets 20 must be raised so that their discharge will be over the upper edge of the wall 22. The outlet discharge pipes 20 are so connected with the pump 17 that they may be turned around their vertical axes so as to permit their passage through the por tion 22 of the casing. They can then be turned into radial position so as to discharge over theedge of the wall 22. It is desirable in this connection that one or more reservoirs 23 be provided for taking care of the discharged material. These reservoirs 23 may be made to :functionas settling basins so that the water from the top-maybe flowed back into the well and through the tube 15 to as? I sist in the further excavation of :the chamber beneath the bottom .of'the well.

After the casing has been sunk to the desired depth the lower chamber will be found to be full of water with anirregular layer;

will and I haveshown three inimy drawing merely for the purpose of explaining their function.

When thewell-has been sunk to the desired depth in which the casing is to remain, the

uppermost gate 24: is opened while thepumpmg action. is going on. :It should be'explained that the gates all have outside controls similar to thecontrols illustrated and described in my prior patent. The opening of the; gate 24 permits the sand from itheupper chamber to enter the tube '15 and this sand'is washed into the tube by means of ,water flowing in from the reservoirs .23. Thesand and. gravel from the .uppercha-mvber is passed'through the tube .15 to the 5 prior patent.

chamber underneath the floor 11 Where they are immediately caught in the suction pipes 18 and 19 and carried to the reservoirs 28. This step proceeds until the level of the sand and gravel in the upper chamber is on a level with the bottom of the gate 24. At this point the gate 25 must be opened to repeat the processes for removing the sand and gravel from above the level of the gate 25. The final opening of the gate 26 removes the fine sand from the lower chamber. At this point the well casing will be relatively free of all sand and gravel but the open nature of the wall 10 permits the continued entrance of fine sand. The pumping action must be kept up until all the fine sand surrounding the wall 10 is removed. This leaves the wall 10 with a layer of gravel which is recognized as the most effective filter for fine sand.

Prior methods of utilizing such a filter contemplate excavation surrounding the well casing and the filling of the excavation with gravel which has been screened from the fine sand. My method utilizes the wall 10 of the well casing as a screen and it accomplishes the same results as in prior methods but at an enormous reduction in cost. My method furthermore leaves the well casing in a position so that it acts continuously as a screen so that it can never become clogged with fine sand, this being one of the very serious difliculties encountered with the prior methods.

The well is completed as described in my The pipes 15 and the suction pipes 18 and 19 together with the pump 17 are removed from the casing. The central opening in the bottom 11 may or may not be plugged up, depending on the character of the soil underneath the bottom 11. If necessary, the opening may be plugged in the manner described in the prior patent.

In using the word soil it is to be understood that I refer to clay, sand, gravel and 3 in fact to all solid materials naturally found in the soil stratum into which or through which the well casing is sunk. I refer to the two chambers of the well casing as a water chamber and as a ballast chamber but these terms are used merely for the purpose of distinguishing between the two chambers and not because these terms are exclusive. The ballast chamber contains much water in addition to the sand and gravel, all of which are delivered from the bottom of the well cavity into the ballast chamber. Likewise the water chamber contains sand which filters through the casing walls and this together with the great body of water in the water chamber serves as ballast for increasing the weight of the well casing during the sinking process.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A well casing having a porous outer wall for admitting fine sand from a soil stratum of water bearing sand and gravel, a bottom and a false bottom in said well casing and forming a lower closed water chamber and an upper ballast chamber, and means for discharging the ballast from the upper chamber after said casing has been sunk to the desired depth.

2. A well casing having a porous outer wall for admitting fine sand from a soil stratum of water bearing sand and gravel, a bottom and a false bottom in said well casing and forming a lower closed water chamber and an upper ballast chamber, means for continuously discharging the water from the upper portion of the water chamber, said means coacting with means for imparting a tangential swirl to the discharged water immediately underneath said bottom, and means for discharging the ballast from the upper chamber after said casing has been sunk to the desired depth.

3. A well casin having a bottom and a false bottom divi ing said well easing into a ballast chamber and a water chamber, said water chamber having openings in the walls thereof for freely admitting water and fine sand thereinto, means for conducting water and soil from beneath said well easing into the ballast chamber thereof, means for con ducting a continuous stream of water from said water chamber to the cavity beneath said Well casing during the sinking of said well casing, and means for discharging the ballast from said ballast chamber and the fine sand from said water chamber after said well casing has been sunk to the desired depth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GALEN EVANS. 

